City targets vacant buildings

CITY OF NEWBURGH — Jean Louis Paul, the 57-year-old owner of an enormous vacant building, became an unwilling pioneer on Thursday in Newburgh.

BY DOYLE MURPHY

CITY OF NEWBURGH — Jean Louis Paul, the 57-year-old owner of an enormous vacant building, became an unwilling pioneer on Thursday in Newburgh.

Paul, of Haverstraw, was led handcuffed and shackled into City Court to a pile of code violations that have been stacking up for the past seven years. He has 16 cases, most involving multiple violations, pending in front of Judge Peter Kulkin and another three cases in front of Judge B. Harold Ramsey.

The city has decided to take a hard line when it comes to building owners such as Paul. Instead of sending violation notices in hopes of encouraging compliance, they're sending police officers to arrest them on open warrants.

"We're trying to hold people accountable," said Tiffany Reis, assistant corporation counsel for the city.

Newburgh has "hundreds and hundreds" of open warrants, Reis said, and the sight of landlords in cuffs could become a familiar one.

"He just happened to be the first one," she said.

The city picked Paul because they consider him one of the worst offenders. His building at 123 Renwick Street is a long-running disaster. Four stories tall, it looms over the corner as a collection of broken windows and crumbling facades. Mattresses, brush and an old love seat fill the backyard. Black graffiti sprayed across security grates in the front proclaim: "Heights University 4 Ever. Get paid or get out da way." Local rappers use it for a backdrop in youtube.com videos to bolster their hard-life rhymes.

Defense attorney Edward Williams said Paul traveled frequently to his native Haiti and some of the notices might have gone to his elderly mother. He said Paul, a state employee who works with special needs children, paid taxes and even the $6,000 fees the city charged him when Department of Publics Works employees were forced to clean up the property for safety reasons. Paul continued to hold onto the building because he dreamed of turning it into a home for children with special needs.

"It's a pride issue," Williams said.

Judge Kulkin continued the case until Monday, when he'll consider adjustments to the $2,500 bail set by Judge Ramsey. The city has offered a plea agreement of 30 days in jail and a $5,000 fine.

Kulkin said he's looking for signs Williams will be able to rehabilitate the building or put it in the hands of someone who will. He noted the city had taken a tough position, but he said they're trying to enforce codes that "haven't been enforced since the '80s."